The Era -- Day By Day

[MissNathalieVintage]

 

[Fading Fast]

...An unemployed shipping clerk from the Bronx is in custody after his attempt to hold up a Bensonhurst candy store was foiled by the wife of the owner. Twenty-year-old William Goldstien appeared at the store of Louis Pecker at 7520 20th Avenue around 1 AM today and, flourishing a pistol, demanded the contents of the cash register. His unidentified accomplice then took $10 out of the till, while Goldstein looked around the store. Mrs. Becky Pecker took that opportunity to throw a headlock around Goldstein, strangling him until he dropped the gun, and wrestled the bandit to the floor, where she sat upon him until police from the Bath Beach precinct arrived to take the bandit into custody. Examination revealed the pistol used in the robbery to be loaded with blanks. The accomplice escaped with the money, and is being sought in the neighborhood.

("Ooooweee!" says Joe, who knows Mrs. Pecker well. "She won'eenletchalookittamagazine lessyabuyitfoist." "Makes a swell egg cream too," observes Sally, who considers Mrs. Pecker a role model.)...

It's fifty or so years too early, but how awesome would a security-camera video of that be?

... (Hey all you fellas getting married to duck the draft -- have we got a deal for you!)...

You gotta love the "white" or "yellow" mountings. If you're going ersatz, might as well go all the way.

...At the Patio this week it's Charles Laughton and Carole Lombard in "They Knew What They Wanted," paired with Cesar Romero in the latest Cisco Kid adventure "The Gay Caballero."...

Cesar Romero in the latest Cisco Kid adventure, "The Gay Caballero." Gay means happy in 1940, right?

...Bob the Dog, fawn colored spitz owned by Mrs. Helen Browne of Flatbush, is heading back to court, with a Municipal Court justice having thrown out an earlier order for his release on a legal technicality. Justice Roger J. Brock ordered that Mrs. Browne surrender Bob to the ASPCA, and that he be held at its Butler Street shelter pending further action in his case, but Mrs. Browne refused to comply, stating only that Bob is presently "somewhere beyond the reach" of the authorities. Bob's year-long odyssey thru the courts after he was accused of biting three persons gained much attention, and Mrs. Browne says thousands of persons from across the country have protested the city's handling of the case....

This is heating up. Judges don't like when you violate their orders. They are very much used to getting their way.

...
(Just don't heat it up in an aluminum pan.)...

Perhaps in 1940 "drenched" had a different connotation as, today, describing a food as "drenched in" something does not sound appetizing.

.
No, they're making a big fuss because you're an entitled celebrity jerk who doesn't want to take responsibility. Joe Louis would never do that....!

Also, Mr. Tunney, your complaint about being unfairly treated differently by the Press because you're a celebrity rings hollow when you get the court to open up early for you so that you can make your train. Try to see what happens when Mr. or Mrs. Joe Average asks the court to open up early for them so that they can make a train. Bahahahahahaha!

The Harlem River Lift Span (which goes by a few names) is still breaking down with regularity to this day.

Re the strip-tease actress - what, no page 33 follow-up for us 2020 readers?

...
Thanks for sharing....

She'd be perfect for Twitter.

... One of the many ways in which Brother Ed set the pace for the entire generation of wholesome teen-humor comics to follow was his perfectly innocent use of cheesecake....

You could see this being teed up yesterday.

 

[Fading Fast]

Is it fried chicken or filet mignon or is it some odd mashup of friend chicken and filet mignon? If the former, I'm thinking, since either costs 90 cents, they'll be getting a lot more orders for the filet mignon.

Fun fact, Madras India is where Madras fabric originally came from.

One of my first jobs during college was selling luggage for Sterns Departments store and the top brand we carried was Hartman. It was too expensive for most of our customers, but boy was it well-made luggage. Just the type of luggage a chief of police would love to get as a gift.

It's awful reading about this in real time while knowing how it all plays out.

"Music should be free." And it almost was in the early days of digital-music piracy. Good for the public; not so good for the musicians or anyone who wanted new music to be made. I wonder how LaGuardia feels about Juke Boxes.

Maybe Jack should have spent a little more time with his new wife so that he could, then, give his full attention to finding Downwind. Being a distracted pilot in that weather is not a good idea.

 

[LizzieMaine]

You've got to admire Jack's dedication, though. He didn't even change out of the formal suit first.

Butch doesn't like juke boxes, but he can't find an excuse to ban them because they can't be used as gambling devices. Or at least nobody's thought of a way to do that yet. Jukes were as mob-controlled in 1940 as pinball machines, and remained a foundation of organized crime in the city well into the 1960s.

If Bob's story was unfolding in 2020, Mrs. Browne would be an anarchist hero. As it is, it's pretty obvious between this story and Brownie's that the whole Health Department policy on dogs isn't working, and it desperately needs to be overhauled. A lot of lawyers are billing a lot of hours on something that's been botched from start to finish.

It's classy that she takes off the blouse and skirt before she takes off the hat.

 

[Fading Fast]

You've got to admire Jack's dedication, though. He didn't even change out of the formal suit first.

Butch doesn't like juke boxes, but he can't find an excuse to ban them because they can't be used as gambling devices. Or at least nobody's thought of a way to do that yet. Jukes were as mob-controlled in 1940 as pinball machines, and remained a foundation of organized crime in the city well into the 1960s.

If Bob's story was unfolding in 2020, Mrs. Browne would be an anarchist hero. As it is, it's pretty obvious between this story and Brownie's that the whole Health Department policy on dogs isn't working, and it desperately needs to be overhauled. A lot of lawyers are billing a lot of hours on something that's been botched from start to finish.

View attachment 284450
It's classy that she takes off the blouse and skirt before she takes off the hat.

Thank you for the page 33 follow up. Hopefully, the News stays with this story for a few more days.

If they made a movie, especially looking at the pic on the right, Ms. Carole Lombard would be perfect to play our ecdysiast protestor. And it would make a good inside-Hollywood story, which is something Hollywood - being a city of self-absorbed navel gazers - does very well. Of course, our stripper would want the lead, but Lombard puts butts in the seats.

Spot on the dog situation - bad laws lead to bad outcomes and, as you called it, a lot of wasted billable hours.

If the bag from Larceny Inc. Luggage doesn't show up, I'm thinking Tracy's going to have to just pay up for the Hartman and bring an end to it.

 

[MissNathalieVintage]

The Chicago Daily Tribune November 27, 1940...

November 28th...

 

[LizzieMaine]

Guess who's going to have to go rescue Jack? Hopefully she'll take off the wedding gown first, the train will get in the way of the pedals.

I wouldn't object to riding in a Pullman with a St. Bernard puppy, but he'd probably have some trouble getting into the upper berth.

 

[Fading Fast]

These all-rubber fleece-lined boots came with the following warning: If Not Removed Immediately After Coming Inside, Feet Are Susceptible To Spontaneous Combustion.

This man is too stupid to be a successful criminal.

 

[Fading Fast]

Guess who's going to have to go rescue Jack? Hopefully she'll take off the wedding gown first, the train will get in the way of the pedals.

I wouldn't object to riding in a Pullman with a St. Bernard puppy, but he'd probably have some trouble getting into the upper berth.

You won't have to tell Joy twice to take that (or any) dress off. "Umm, Joy, we meant to switch to a simpler dress for flying in, not to just take the wedding gown off." "Oh, okay I guess."

I bet if you are a big-enough VIP, you can ride with your dog in your Pullman compartment.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Meanwhile, Miss Gerta Rozan's sounded familiar to me, so I broke out some casting directories and it turns out she did some radio after she got tired of Hollywood -- including a role in, of all things, the radio version of "Terry and the Pirates."

I do hope she put her clothes on though -- they always crank up the air conditioning in those studios, and you usually need at least a sweater.

 

[Fading Fast]

Meanwhile, Miss Gerta Rozan's sounded familiar to me, so I broke out some casting directories and it turns out she did some radio after she got tired of Hollywood -- including a role in, of all things, the radio version of "Terry and the Pirates."

I do hope she put her clothes on though -- they always crank up the air conditioning in those studios, and you usually need at least a sweater.

If she was the voice of our Ms. Sherman and she was doing the window-ledge scene outside of Dude's room, being a method actress, even on radio, we know what happened next:

"Uh, Ms. Rozan, this is radio, there's no need to dress, or, well, undress for the part."
"It's how I get into character."
"We'll discuss it later, for now, would you mind just putting on this bathrobe."
"I'm a misunderstood artist."
"Sure, sure, now just cinch the front up a bit please."

 

[LizzieMaine]

German destroyers torpedoed two British destroyers and sank four other vessels in an attack close to the English coast at the western end of the English Channel today, and returned unscathed to their bases. The sunken vessels included one of 9000 tons, another of 3000 tons, and two smaller craft. Meanwhile, British light warships intercepted a group of German vessels trying to slip into the Channel from the East under cover of light mist, and sent them fleeing, Italian-style, back to their bases.

German planes today rained bombs on the northern industrial city of Liverpool, in another night of concentrated raids intended to wreck British industrial centers, ports, and food centers.

Rumania is on the verge of civil war, and German and Rumaninan authorities and attempting to clamp down on an Iron Guard reign of terror, with Green Shirted patrols having shot sixty-four persons in the past three days in a "blood purge" intended to avenge the 1938 death of Iron Guard founder Corneliu Zelea Cordreanu. Nazi and Rumanian officials will meet today with leaders of the Iron Guard's conservative faction in an attempt to control the young radical faction of the movement. It is rumored that several Iron Guardists who have tried to stop the killings have themselves been shot.

One policeman was treated for second-degree burns of the face and hands and two others for smoke poisoning after rescuing eight persons from a two-alarm apartment fire in Park Slope. The blaze at 257 7th Street started when an oil stove exploded in a third-floor apartment where 18-year-old Elizabeth McDaid was preparing breakfast for her family. All eight occupants of the McDaid apartment were rescued, with the mother of the family, 43-year-old Ellen McDaid, found unconscious on the floor and carried to the street by police. Two other families in the building escaped without serious injuries, and the Acme Barber Shop on the ground floor was closed at the time of the blaze. The fire was under control by 7:45 AM.

(This is actually a pretty good price on a pretty good radio -- if you can take the bizarre styling -- but it's a 1940 model, not a 1941. Imagine that.)

The price of heavy cream in Brooklyn is heading upward, with the Borden Farm Products Division of the Borden Company announcing that home-delivered cream will rise four cents a quart starting next week, and one cent per half-pint container. The Sheffield Farms division of the National Dairy Products Corporation is expected to announce a similar increase soon. The two companies dominate the milk-delivery business in the city.

(Awwwwwwwwwww. Did somebody say "cream?")

Two of the Brooklyn trainees reporting to Camp Upton this week for their year in the Army have tested out at near-genius-level intelligence, in IQ tests administered by Army examiners, and the majority of men were found to be "of greater than average mental agility." A typical question found on the test was "An orange is: (a) a broom (b) a hat (c) a flower (d) a fruit."
("Assatrick question," insists Joe. "Yagotta orange blossom, ain'cha? Assaflowa. Annenyagotta reg'la orange, an'assafruit, y'see? Issatrick. T'ese people is woise'n Professa Quiz." "Yeah," says Sally. "An' Iseenadameatwoik'totha'day witta orange hat on. Ain'nevaseena orange broom, t'ough. Budditdon'meant'ereain' one.")

Mayor LaGuardia is dismissing reports in a Manhattan tabloid that he will step down as Mayor next month. In a speech to mark dedication exercises at Joan of Arc Junior High School in Manhattan yesterday, the Mayor stated that he will return in two years to speak at the graduation ceremonies for the school's first class -- and that he will do so "as Mayor."

A 76-year-old Prospect Heights woman was charged with bootlegging after an inquisitive patrolman noticed three different men giving a distinctive tap at the window of a pork store at 655 Washington Avenue. He followed the men into an alley behind the shop where he found Mrs. Madeline Castardi selling liquor at 20 cents a half-pint out of a burlap-covered baby carriage. Mrs. Castardi was arraigned last night in Brooklyn-Queens Night Court on violation of the A. B. C. law.

("You know what I want for Christmas? Venetian blinds!" said no one, ever.)

(Mr. Savo once teamed in a Broadway revue with Fred Allen -- with Allen as the straight man. Sample dialog: "I'd rather be Charlie Chaplin than William Shakespeare." "Why?" "Because Shakespeare's dead!" Guess you had to be there.)

A new ruling by the Army that removable dentures will not be a bar to Army service has not satisfied Frank J. Gruetzke of Queens, who was rejected at his physical examination because of his bridgework. Mr. Gruetzke says he will not reapply for Army service, and is still sitting around his apartment afraid to meet his friends who had earlier given him a big send-off. The disappointed draftee says he doesn't want to displace another man by trying again, and is satisfied to wait until he's called up again. Mr. Grutzke also says he's afraid to go back to the brokerage house where he resigned his job as a clerk, and has no idea what he'll do next.

Reader Craig Kennedy says if Brooklyn residents are tired of fighting smelly disposal plants in residential neighborhoods, of elevated structures that are not torn down as promised, and of new library branches that are allowed to sit unopened for want of a few thousand dollars, then it's time to consider seceding from New York City and becoming once again the independent City of Brooklyn, and he urges the Eagle to show its civic pride by starting such a campaign.

("Nah, but fa haffa buck, I c'n kick ya teet' out.")

The body of the late circus performer Amanda "Jolly Irene" Siebert was to have been laid out for viewing at the Coney Island chapel of undertaker Martin F. Healy of 468 Neptune Avenye, but it was found that the door was too narrow to allow the coffin to pass thru. Mrs. Siebert's body was therefore lain in repose at the New York and Brooklyn Funeral Home at 167 S. Oxford Street in Boerum Hill. She will be buried tomorrow following a requiem Mass at Our Lady of Solace R. C. Church, W. 17th and Mermaid Avenue.

Two complete Navy teams are ready for tomorrow's annual Army-Navy Game to be played at Municipal Stadium in Philadelphia. Swede Larson, Navy coach, stated today that he has twenty-two men ready to play -- a far cry from 1912, when Navy brought just twelve men to the big game.

The schoolboy football season ends at Ebbets Field tomorrow afternoon as Madison meets the Peabody Leathernecks -- class B champions of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. You might remember them from three years ago, when they beat Erasmus Hall at the Bedford Avenue ballyard in a driving rain, by a score of 6-0.

The Americans topped the Rangers last night at Madison Square Garden by a score of 2-1, and it was mental errors on the part of the Blueshirts and not brute force that did it. With two minutes left to play, three Rangers got confused enough to allow the A's Harvey Jackson to slip one right past them and into the net.

Pittsburgh's Billy Conn faces hard-bitten young Swede Lee Savold tonight at the Garden, and it's a crucial bout -- if Conn wins, he's a lock to fight Joe Louis for the title in a big outdoor extravaganza next year. Promoter Mike Jacobs has made no secret of his desire for such a fight, but the ring cognoscenti has pooh-poohed the idea, arguing that Conn isn't ready. But if Conn beats Savold tonight, expect those objections to evaporate.

A good strong thriller movie won't do a healthy child any harm. So stated the motion picture editor of Parent's Magazine in a speech to the annual conference of the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures. Said Mrs. Ralph T. Edwards, "a completely de-shivered existence might well disarm the child for the future. A parent should know their own children's capacity for thrills and act accordingly."

("Mostly?" Is Julian Eltinge making a comeback?)

Duke Ellington's "sepia revue" at the Flatbush isn't as good a show as it could be -- because why isn't the Duke actually playing the piano? Robert Francis observes that he does a fine job conducting his fine band -- but when you go to see the Duke, you go to see him play, don't you? Nevertheless, sax man Johnny Hodges is in outstanding form, "and is the first man we have seen to step down from a bandstand at the Flatbush and literally stop the show."

(Well, gee, Slappy, if the Army still won't take you, Amateur Night at the Star is Tuesdays. You oughta wow 'em with this tap routine.)

(Hmm. Gangsters or fifth columnists? Maybe Axel's setting up in a new town.)

(They're *both* lying. Slim wasn't counting on this.)

("Whew," thinks Dan. "Almost forgot her name.")

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

I don't mean to sound callous, but even I know you don't go off on a dangerous deep-sea adventure in a dinky little boat like that. That's the kind of a thing you see summer people sailing around the bay in.

Rockland, Maine! His son used to work at the grocery store where I shop.

And that's a very good point. How about it?

"A prophet is without honor in his own country."

Most elaborate troll ever -- who paints a ceiling black?

Workin' hard or hardly workin'?

No, Max, the word is "swellegant!" Don't you read Winchell?

It's even more impressive in slow motion.

Because shooting a cop is less of a rap than hustling hot bicycles.

Y'know, Irwin Higgs ought to be thankful. If he hadn't latched on with Dan, he'd be Willie Mullins.

 

[Fading Fast]

German destroyers torpedoed two British destroyers and sank four other vessels in an attack close to the English coast at the western end of the English Channel today, and returned unscathed to their bases. The sunken vessels included one of 9000 tons, another of 3000 tons, and two smaller craft. Meanwhile, British light warships intercepted a group of German vessels trying to slip into the Channel from the East under cover of light mist, and sent them fleeing, Italian-style, back to their bases....

"and sent them fleeing, Italian-style, back to their bases." Kaboom.

...The price of heavy cream in Brooklyn is heading upward, with the Borden Farm Products Division of the Borden Company announcing that home-delivered cream will rise four cents a quart starting next week, and one cent per half-pint container. The Sheffield Farms division of the National Dairy Products Corporation is expected to announce a similar increase soon. The two companies dominate the milk-delivery business in the city....

It's time for Borden and Sheffield to put out some feel-good advertising in the News to divert attention.

...("Assatrick question," insists Joe. "Yagotta orange blossom, ain'cha? Assaflowa. Annenyagotta reg'la orange, an'assafruit, y'see? Issatrick. T'ese people is woise'n Professa Quiz." "Yeah," says Sally. "An' Iseenadameatwoik'totha'day witta orange hat on. Ain'nevaseena orange broom, t'ough. Budditdon'meant'ereain' one.")..

I first read ""Assatrick" as "Asterick" and said to myself, "there's no way in hell Joe is using that word, or even knows the word, 'Asterick'." Then, stupid me, looks again and sees "Assatrick" as "That's a trick" and I thought, "Oh, all is good, nothing to see, carry on."

And "An' Iseenadameatwoik'totha'day witta orange hat on. Ain'nevaseena orange broom, t'ough. Budditdon'meant'ereain' one." Nice work Lizzie.

... View attachment 284592 ("You know what I want for Christmas? Venetian blinds!" said no one, ever.)...

. Somebody had her Whit-Wyatt-approved Wheaties this morning.

... View attachment 284594
(Mr. Savo once teamed in a Broadway revue with Fred Allen -- with Allen as the straight man. Sample dialog: "I'd rather be Charlie Chaplin than William Shakespeare." "Why?" "Because Shakespeare's dead!" Guess you had to be there.)...

It's not good when you're using jokes rejected by Henry Youngman.

...A new ruling by the Army that removable dentures will not be a bar to Army service has not satisfied Frank J. Gruetzke of Queens, who was rejected at his physical examination because of his bridgework. Mr. Gruetzke says he will not reapply for Army service, and is still sitting around his apartment afraid to meet his friends who had earlier given him a big send-off. The disappointed draftee says he doesn't want to displace another man by trying again, and is satisfied to wait until he's called up again. Mr. Grutzke also says he's afraid to go back to the brokerage house where he resigned his job as a clerk, and has no idea what he'll do next....

Here's an idea, stop talking to a reporter from the Eagle about something you want to keep quiet.

...Reader Craig Kennedy says if Brooklyn residents are tired of fighting smelly disposal plants in residential neighborhoods, of elevated structures that are not torn down as promised, and of new library branches that are allowed to sit unopened for want of a few thousand dollars, then it's time to consider seceding from New York City and becoming once again the independent City of Brooklyn, and he urges the Eagle to show its civic pride by starting such a campaign....

That library situation sounded stupid when it first came up awhile back and, clearly, has not been resolved. This is something LaGuardia would get fixed quickly if he got a bee in his bonnet about it.

...
("Nah, but fa haffa buck, I c'n kick ya teet' out.")...

See earlier, with the Army's new denture policy, that's not a good strategy.

...The schoolboy football season ends at Ebbets Field tomorrow afternoon as Madison meets the Peabody Leathernecks -- class B champions of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. You might remember them from three years ago, when they beat Erasmus Hall at the Bedford Avenue ballyard in a driving rain, by a score of 6-0....

Sally, comment? Isn't that your old high school?

...
("Mostly?" Is Julian Eltinge making a comeback?)...

Ms. Eltinge might be a bit old in 1940 for this line of work, but had Ms. Rozan not gone into radio, this too could have been a post-Hollywood career path as she's already shown us she has the required skills.

... ("Whew," thinks Dan. "Almost forgot her name.")

I remember Kay, who's Babs?

...
I don't mean to sound callous, but even I know you don't go off on a dangerous deep-sea adventure in a dinky little boat like that. That's the kind of a thing you see summer people sailing around the bay in.....

Have you noticed that Page Four seems to have two different editors as, one likes the Hollywood/Society stories; whereas, the other likes more human tragedy, crime and murder stories?

And good "The Neighbors" today.

...
Rockland, Maine! His son used to work at the grocery store where I shop.....

Very cool.

...
And that's a very good point. How about it?...

Do we know where they were when they were bit - were they on her property? I don't remember that coming up, but as you note, good point, worth pursuing.

... Workin' hard or hardly workin'?....

Are his bags still there? I'll bet they are stolen.

Oh, for God's sakes, Tracy - just buy him a bag.

... It's even more impressive in slow motion.....

I'll be a reader of a Hu Shee spinoff.

... Because shooting a cop is less of a rap than hustling hot bicycles.....

These guys have been some of the stupidest criminals we've met so far.

 

[LizzieMaine]

"Hmph!" says Sally. "Nineteent'oityseven. My bruttawasonnatteam. Heezadope. Tripsallatimeova'is big flat feet. Now, classat'oityone onnauttahan' -- undefeated!" Joe buries his head in the paper. He can'stan'alliss rah-rah stuff.

I believe Babs is sort of Kay's adopted kid sister, and is the Dan Dunn Universe equivalent of Junior Tracy. Go on, Dan, show the kid you love her. Buy her a bike.

I'm pretty sure Brownie racked up all her victims while serving as a watch dog, or such was Mrs. Fucelli's argument when the authorities got involved. Which would seem to be a pretty fair argument. The idea of the Sanitation Department having jurisdiction over dog cases doesn't make a lot of sense, especially when such situations come about. Hey Butch, after you finish with the Brooklyn library, here's another one for you to sort out.

 

[LizzieMaine]

The boy king of Rumania is under heavy guard by elite Nazi troops in Bucharest, and it is believed that he is being held as an "ace in the hole" by German authorities in an effort to control the radical elements of the Iron Guard, now rampaging in the Rumanian capital. Nineteen-year-old King Michael was enthroned following the abdication and flight of his father, the former King Carol, but has since then been a virtual prisoner of conservative Iron Guardist Premier Ion Antonescu, whose regime is now said to be "tottering" in the face of terrorist attacks by Iron Guard extremists. It is believed that the Germans may intend to offer the young monarch to the Rumanian people as a substitute for whichever of the warring Iron Guard factions prevails in the present conflict. The moves come as over a hundred thousand Iron Guardists descended upon Bucharest for a funeral service conducted over the bones of Iron Guard founder Corneliu Zelea Cordreanu. whose remains were dug up yesterday from the prison yard where he was buried following his execution two years ago. The rampage by Iron Guard extremists has led to the summary executions of more than 2000 persons in the past week, most of them Jews.

The National Guard captain accused of illegally supplying armaments to the Christian Front last year has been acquitted by a military court. Captain John T. Prout, Jr. had been court-martialed on charges that he took military property without authorization and engaged in conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman in connection with the alleged Christian Front plot to overthrow the government. The acquittal followed Capt. Prout's disavowal of a confession he had made to agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation admitting that he allowed Christian Front member Gerald Bishop to "help himself" to guns and ammunition stored in the Brooklyn armory of the 165th Infantry Division.

Three hundred and fifty military selectees from Brooklyn and Queens are to be transferred from Camp Upton to Fort Dix, New Jersey after completing their initial processing by the Army. The selectees will begin their formal basic training at the New Jersey base on Monday. Meanwhile, national Selective Service Director Clarence Dykstra issued a call for state authorities to do all within their power to aid rejected selectees to regain jobs they quit in anticipation of beginning military service, stating in a wire to the heads of all state Selective Service agencies that "everything possible must be done to avoid hardship" in such cases.

White House press secretary Stephen Early today released to the public a letter from New York police Patrolman James M. Sloan absolving him from any blame for the "kneeing" incident at Pennsylvania Station on October 28th. The "Negro police officer" and Mr. Early were involved in a scuffle on the station platform when Mr. Early and his party were attempting to board the Presidential train following a campaign stop in the city, and Patrolman Sloan was "kneed" during that altercation. The patrolman had recently undergone abdominal surgery and the injury left him bedridden for a brief time, but he emphasized in his letter that he did not view the scuffle as intentional, and that he believed that everyone involved was simply trying to do their jobs. Patrolman Sloan also emphasized that he was sending the letter at this time specifically to prevent anyone from exploiting it for political purposes. Patrolman Sloan publicly endorsed President Roosevelt in the wake of the incident.

Police from the office of District Attorney William O'Dwyer and Federal agents today arrested Philip "Little Farvel" Cohen, thirty-two-year-old gunman wanted as an accomplice of Louis "Lepke" Buchalter in connection with the Murder For Hire slaying of Joseph Rosen, Brownsville candy store operator, who was shot down in front of his shop on September 13, 1936. Cohen was taken without incident during a 4 AM raid on a Fort Greene rooming house.

("My ma wennawunnat'em leckchas," says Sally. "He sez yaottaeatcha food rawr. You know, wittout cookin'." "Oh yeah," says Joe. "Like 'at roast shegivvus t'las' time we wen' ovat'ere." "Nah," says Sally. "'Atwuz rayah. Not rawr." "Yeah," snaps Joe, "it's rayah she evvacooksus a roast, 'atsfa soiten!")

The Queens draftee turned away by the Army for his lack of teeth has again been rejected, after changing his mind about trying again. Frank J. Gruetzke of St. Albans reported to Local Draft Board 264 at Andrew Jackson High School for a re-examination in view of the Army's edict that removable dentures are not a bar to military service, but was again turned down by examiners, who determined that even with his bridgework in place, Gereutzke's dentition was still insufficient. Gruetzke says he doesn't know what he'll do now, admitting that he's still afraid to face his friends in public, and thinks he'll just sit back and wait and see what happens.

A police crusade against smoking on subway platforms in Queens landed 87 men in Flushing Court, with each fined $1 and told not to do it again. Subway riders are reminded that smoking is prohibited on all station platforms.

("We can't afford a college and a stadium. We start tearing down the college tomorrow.")

Former New York City Mayor George McClellan died yesterday at the age of 75. Mr. McClellan served as Mayor from 1903 to 1909, and was the son of General George B. McClellan, General of the Army of the Potomac during the Civil War.

102,000 are expected to crowd into Philadelphia's Municipal Stadium for the Army-Navy game, as the national college football season draws to a close. Up at Yankee Stadium, the New York season ends with Fordham facing N. Y. U.

The odds are 6 to 5 in favor of the Giants tomorrow as the Football Dodgers head to the Polo Grounds to conclude their National Football League season in a drive to earn a tie for first place in the Eastern Division. The Dodgers haven't beaten their uptown rivals in ten years, but they must win tomorrow, and the hapless Philadelphia Eagles must beat the front-running Washington Redskins for Brooklyn to end the season in a tie and to force a title-deciding playoff between Washington and Brooklyn. The scenario is admittedly unlikely, but the Grid Flock is bent on beating the Giants under any circumstances, with their eye on clinching second place.

Expect news shortly on the long-rumored trade that will bring catcher Mickey Owen to Ebbets Field. The Dodgers and Cardinals are talking, and rumor has it that a deal is imminent.

It wasn't much of a fight, but Billy Conn outpointed Lee Savold to win in twelve rounds at Madison Square Garden last night, with the shadow of the Brown Bomber looming heavily over the proceedings. Conn's win all but cinches that he will face Joe Louis for the heavyweight title sometime in 1941.

A new educational program called "Children Are People" over CBS will begin next week, to be heard Monday, Wednesday, and Friday afternoons at 3:45 pm with speakers on topics related to child psychology and development. The first program will feature the nationally-known Dr. Benjamin Spock of the Institute for the Study of Personality of Progressive Education Association, who will discuss problems of feeding in infancy.

(When we finally get into a storyline with an actual villain, I'm betting it'll be this poor turtle, who's sick and tired of all the antics.)

(Ahh! AHHHH! AHHHHHH! Speaking of villians, it's SIBYL DARDANELLA! Fourteen years ago, George was suffering from amnesia and living under the name of "Edgar Steele," when he became involved with the ambitiously-widowed Mrs. Dardanella, to the point of proposing to her. He then inconveniently recovered his memory and got sued for breach of promise, a situation that ended messily for all involved. Since then Mrs. Dardenella has popped up every few years with a new scheme to make George's life miserable, and to give Jo fresh reason to sneer at her as "a bold vamp with banana colored hair and a fake Southern accent." This should be fun.)

(Mary and the Slaggs should get together and share stories.)

("Wonderful," sighs Kay. "Just wonderful.")

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

It took a long time for "self service elevators" to gain acceptance, and stories like this are why.

Season's Gripings!

Well now, haven't heard from these folks in a while. "Steak a la Minute" is a bit de trop, don't you think?

"What, again?"

Sam never "guesses."

Tess begins to understand the true nature of her existence.

Skeezix Wallet, Man of the World.

Wake up, Terry, you're missing the best part of the story.

If you're going to be a wise guy, it doesn't pay to get too elaborate.

Don't get too comfy though, there's gonna be a lot of dishes to wash.

 

[Fading Fast]

The boy king of Rumania is under heavy guard by elite Nazi troops in Bucharest, and it is believed that he is being held as an "ace in the hole" by German authorities in an effort to control the radical elements of the Iron Guard, now rampaging in the Rumanian capital. Nineteen-year-old King Michael was enthroned following the abdication and flight of his father, the former King Carol, but has since then been a virtual prisoner of conservative Iron Guardist Premier Ion Antonescu, whose regime is now said to be "tottering" in the face of terrorist attacks by Iron Guard extremists. It is believed that the Germans may intend to offer the young monarch to the Rumanian people as a substitute for whichever of the warring Iron Guard factions prevails in the present conflict. The moves come as over a hundred thousand Iron Guardists descended upon Bucharest for a funeral service conducted over the bones of Iron Guard founder Corneliu Zelea Cordreanu. whose remains were dug up yesterday from the prison yard where he was buried following his execution two years ago. The rampage by Iron Guard extremists has led to the summary executions of more than 2000 persons in the past week, most of them Jews....

Dad abdicated and left his son behind - cold.

...White House press secretary Stephen Early today released to the public a letter from New York police Patrolman James M. Sloan absolving him from any blame for the "kneeing" incident at Pennsylvania Station on October 28th. The "Negro police officer" and Mr. Early were involved in a scuffle on the station platform when Mr. Early and his party were attempting to board the Presidential train following a campaign stop in the city, and Patrolman Sloan was "kneed" during that altercation. The patrolman had recently undergone abdominal surgery and the injury left him bedridden for a brief time, but he emphasized in his letter that he did not view the scuffle as intentional, and that he believed that everyone involved was simply trying to do their jobs. Patrolman Sloan also emphasized that he was sending the letter at this time specifically to prevent anyone from exploiting it for political purposes. Patrolman Sloan publicly endorsed President Roosevelt in the wake of the incident....

The information value of this letter is zero. It could be a hundred percent true or a hundred percent false (or anything in between) as it is not hard to imagine the intense pressure and/or incentives put upon Patrolman Sloan to write it. Having seen some high-up pressure (and the White House is pretty high up) applied down the line, nothing even has to be said, implication alone can accomplish a lot. Hence, a lot of future deniability.

...The Queens draftee turned away by the Army for his lack of teeth has again been rejected, after changing his mind about trying again. Frank J. Gruetzke of St. Albans reported to Local Draft Board 264 at Andrew Jackson High School for a re-examination in view of the Army's edict that removable dentures are not a bar to military service, but was again turned down by examiners, who determined that even with his bridgework in place, Gereutzke's dentition was still insufficient. Gruetzke says he doesn't know what he'll do now, admitting that he's still afraid to face his friends in public, and thinks he'll just sit back and wait and see what happens....

Still talking to the press I see - that should keep it a secret. Also, great plan - do nothing. Yes, that normally works.

...It wasn't much of a fight, but Billy Conn outpointed Lee Savold to win in twelve rounds at Madison Square Garden last night, with the shadow of the Brown Bomber looming heavily over the proceedings. Conn's win all but cinches that he will face Joe Louis for the heavyweight title sometime in 1941....

We'll wait until the fight happens to note them, but there are some famous lines that will come out of the upcoming Louis-Conn fight.

... (When we finally get into a storyline with an actual villain, I'm betting it'll be this poor turtle, who's sick and tired of all the antics.)...

There's so much good stuff here that is wasted on silly jokes instead of smart stories. Just crib some stuff from the headlines; it's not that hard, they all do it.

And that turtle should have gotten out of there long ago. I feel for the little guy.

... (Ahh! AHHHH! AHHHHHH! Speaking of villians, it's SIBYL DARDANELLA! Fourteen years ago, George was suffering from amnesia and living under the name of "Edgar Steele," when he became involved with the ambitiously-widowed Mrs. Dardanella, to the point of proposing to her. He then inconveniently recovered his memory and got sued for breach of promise, a situation that ended messily for all involved. Since then Mrs. Dardenella has popped up every few years with a new scheme to make George's life miserable, and to give Jo fresh reason to sneer at her as "a bold vamp with banana colored hair and a fake Southern accent." This should be fun.)...

Sibyl Dardanella is an awesome comic-book-villain name. I assume she's wearing a hat here or she's no longer dying her hair.

... View attachment 284891 It took a long time for "self service elevators" to gain acceptance, and stories like this are why....

A lot of even the bad stories that we read in these papers feel a bit removed as it all happened 80 years ago, but this elevator one feels awful and visceral. The reporter did his work.

... Skeezix Wallet, Man of the World.....

Sorry, have to say it, this is exactly where Ms. Snipe is supposed to come in. That's how it works.

...
Wake up, Terry, you're missing the best part of the story.....

Caniff's dying to write the spinoff: "The Adventures of Hu Shee."

 

[LizzieMaine]

September 11, 1926 -- the players in the drama.

The Mysterious Archibald is none other than Mr. Dardanella, the grieving widow's far-from-deceased husband, about to spring a trap of his own.

Sibyl shows up again in 1933, to throw a wrench into Peggy's romance with the fabulous Montgomery El Dorado, who is none other than J. Hartford Oakdale's long-lost father.

Three years later she surfaces again, sensing opportunity when George is acting as campaign manager for a weak-minded senator.

And we last saw her in 1939 -- when George tried to fix her up with his Uncle Gumbo, Wild Man of the Austrialian Outback. Misunderstandings, as they always do, ensued.

What could she possibly be up to now?

 

[MissNathalieVintage]

The Chicago Daily Tribune November 28, 1940...